Improvement in lamp-extinguishers



UNITED" STATES RALPH LANGE, OF BALTIMORE, MARYLAND.

IMPROVEMENT IN LAIViP-EXTINGUISHERS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 139,398, dated May 27, 1873; application filed April 14, 1873.

To all whom tt may concern:

Be it known that I, RALPH LANGE, of the city of Baltimore, in the county of Baltimoreand State of Maryland, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Lamp-Extinguishers, of which the following is a specifica-tion:

The object of myinvention is to provide a simple, cheap, and effective device that can be applied to burners of any description, and that will be automatic in its operation to instantly extinguish the flame of a burning lamp if by accident it should be overturned, and furthermore provide a convenient and ready means for extinguishing the light under ordinary circumstances; and the improvement consists, iirst, in providing a supplemental tube that is attached to a weighted base-plate and having a latch or valve secured thereto, which device fits loosely around the wick-tube of a lamp, so that it may slide freely thereon, and when inclined below a horizontal line will, because of the wei ghtedbase-p] ate, slide forward andpermit the spring-valve to close the opening at the end of the supplemental tube, and thus extinguish the light. Second, in combining with the above-described device a finger-piece attached to the base-plate and projecting outa side the casing of the lamp, so that the extin guisher can be raised vertically on the lamptube by lifting the fm ger-piece, andthus permit the latch or valve to be closed and the lamp extinguished, whenever so desired. Third, in'

combining, with the above, a locking device for securing the extinguisher positively in either its open or its closed position, as hereinafter more fully described.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a vertical section of so much of a lamp as is necessary to exemplify myimprovement 5 Fig.

2, a similar section of the same when inclined so as to cause the spring-valve to cover the mouth of the wick-tube; Fig. 3, a view, in perspective, of the base-plate and its connections detached from the lamp; and Fig. 4, a similar view of another form of extinguishertube with a locking device attached.

The wick-tube'B andchimney-rest C of the lamp A are of the ordinary construction. A dished base-plate, E, of sufficient weight to cause it to fall from its position when the wickformed upon its free end is secured to the basey plate E in such relation thereto that when the lamp is in its normal position the valve F' bears against the outside of the wick-tube and leaves the opening thereof unobstructed; but when` the base-plate is moved upward upon the wicktube the extinguisher-tube incloses the upper end of the wick-tube, and the tension of the spring-latch F throws the valve F down upon the open end ofthe extinguisher-tube and closes the same, thereby instantaneously extinguishing the light.

By reference to Fig. 2 of the drawings it will be seen how this operation is automatically accomplished when the lamp is, from any cause, turned over far enough to bring the wick-tube below a horizontal line. In such a case the gravity of the base-plate causes it to slide down upon the wick-tube, the valve F moving across the mouth thereof until it falls into its i seat upon the top of the extinguisher-tubeE.

In order to extinguish the lamp when desired, I provide a finger-piece, G, which projects downward through an opening inl the chimney-rest, and is provided at its lower end with a button or stop, g, which limits the degree of motion of the base-plate and its connections. By moving the same upward by means of the finger-piece, the lamp can be extinguished in the same manner as when the movement of the extinguishing devices is caused by the displacement of the lamp from a vertical position, as hereinafter described.

The form of the devices herein described may be changed in various ways without departing from the spirit of my invention. A`

round wick-tube and a hinged valve operated by an independent spring are shown in Fig. 4. By reference to the same figure it will be seen that the outer casing is provided with a vertical slot, the upper or lower end or both of which may be notched in such manner that the nger-piece will move freely up and down the vertical slot when the extinguisher is in operation, and can then be turned to the right or left into said notch or notches, and thus securely lock the extinguisher-tube and valve in either its upper or lower position. When locked in its upper position it Will serve to prevent the escape of the gases from the oil through the Wick-tube, and thus remove from this class of lamps the objectionable odor that is connected With them. When locked in its upper position the extinguisher becomes inoperative.

My improvement, Whichis cheap and simple in its construction, can be readily applied to any of the ordinary forms of lamps, and affords an effective safeguard against the numerous and often fatal accidents caused by the upsetting of lamps. When in its normal position it will not interfere in any Way With the trimming of the lamp-Wick,as every thing connected with the extinguisher drops below the upper rim or edge of the wick-tube.

RALPH LANGE. Witnesses:

WM. H. ROME, C. O. POOLE. 

